


After Graduation

by itsnotreallyme



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Episode: s03e22 Those Are Strings Pinocchio, Family, Fluff, Graduation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:27:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24502357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsnotreallyme/pseuds/itsnotreallyme
Summary: Following her graduation from Chilton, Rory seeks out Luke.(Luke is totally a better father to Rory than Christopher and no, you cannot change my mind)Hope you enjoy!
Relationships: Luke Danes & Rory Gilmore
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	After Graduation

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in like an hour with very minimal editing so keep that in mind.

The ‘little gathering’ Lorelai put together for Rory after her Chilton graduation was anything but ‘little’. Somehow, just about everyone in the town fit themselves into either their house, porch, or front yard. As the graduate, everyone wanted to talk to and congratulate Rory, so while she made the rounds everyone else mingled and ate the food Sookie had set up strategically throughout the house and yard. Everyone was very sweet and Rory really appreciated everyone coming to celebrate her, but she couldn’t help but notice that one baseball cap and flannel clad person was absent. She knows large gatherings aren’t really his thing, and he had gone to the actual graduation, but Rory was still a little disappointed not to see Luke. She wanted to talk to him about something.

Hours later the last of the guests were finally heading out and the girls could sit and take a breath. (“I hate company, why did you make me do that?” “It was your idea!”) From their position on the couch, Lorelai and Rory heard a crash come from the kitchen. Sookie was in the kitchen cleaning up the last of the food. A moment later they heard Sookie call out,

“I’m fine! Everything’s fine!”

“I better go check on her. Make sure she doesn’t get another concussion.” Lorelai sighed and heaved off the couch, heading toward the kitchen.

“Ok. I think I’m going to go grab some coffee from Luke’s” Rory called after her mother.

“Ooh could you get one for me too?”

“Sure!”

And with that Rory walked the short distance to Luke’s. When she got there, she was pleased to see the place was pretty quiet with only a few customers. She loved the town, she really did, but you can only accept congratulations so many times in one day. Looking around Rory couldn’t find Luke and figured he was in the kitchen or in the back, so she decided to take a seat at the counter and wait for him to come back out. There was something she wanted to say to him. A few moments later, Cesar came out of the kitchen carrying two plates of food.

“Hey Cesar. Where’s Luke?”

“He’s upstairs”

“Ok. Thanks.” Rory headed upstairs. It felt weird to be upstairs without Jess, but she shook the thought out of her head. He left. He left her. And he didn’t even give her the courtesy of a goodbye. Today was about her and right now she wanted to talk to Luke.

Having reached the door, Rory knocked.

“Luke? You in there?” She knocked again.

“Luke?” After a moment the door opened and revealed a slightly disheveled Luke, still in his suit.

“Rory. What are you doing here?” Luke asked.

“Well hello to you too, Luke.” Rory responded amused, a small smile forming on her face.

“I just meant I’m surprised. Shouldn’t you be off celebrating or packing for your trip?” The pair walked into Luke’s apartment and closed the door behind them, standing semi-awkwardly in the entryway/kitchen. (His apartment really was small.)

“The party ended a little bit ago and we finished packing this morning.”

“Oh.” A beat. “Do you want a soda or something? I’ve got a ton on the fridge and I’m never going to drink them.” Luke started to walk toward the fridge before Rory spoke up.

“No thanks. I just wanted to talk to you for a minute. I wanted to thank you again for coming to my graduation today. It meant a lot to me that you were there.” Rory looked down at her hands clasped in front of her. Luke stood and looked at Rory. He could tell she had more she wanted to say so he stayed quiet, allowing her to gather her thoughts before she continued.

“My Dad..well he’s never around that much. I mean, he’s been better about it the past few years, but he still doesn’t have the greatest track record. I always assumed he wouldn’t be at my graduation so it honestly didn’t bother me that much that he wasn’t there. But...I really wanted you to be there because you’ve always been there for me and I really appreciate that and I am really happy you came today.” Rory was still looking at her fidgeting hands but after a moment she looked up at Luke, waiting for him to say something. When she looked up she found Luke’s eyes filling with tears and a gentle smile on his usually stoic face. Luke cleared his throat and said,

“It was my pleasure, Rory. I am so proud of you.” Rory took a step forward and hugged Luke, who returned the hug just as enthusiastically. After a moment the two pulled apart, both wiping their eyes.

“One more thing,” Rory added as she reached inside the cardigan she was wearing over her dress, “I have something for you.” She handed an envelope over to Luke who opened it to find a photo of Luke, Lorelai, and Rory from earlier that afternoon. It was one of the many photos Sookie took throughout the day.

“Sookie dropped the film off to be developed before she came to our house for the party. I asked her to get an extra copy of this one so you could have it, too.” Luke was still staring at the photo. They all were smiling at the camera, Luke and Lorelai standing proudly behind Rory in her cap and gown, holding her diploma.

“Thank you, Rory.” Luke managed to choke out.

“I know my Dad loves me and he’s getting all the pictures and the official video and everything, but he wasn’t there and he won’t get to be in the pictures. You were there. You are in the pictures.” Rory leaned in and gave Luke another hug and mumbled into his chest,

“I love you, Luke.” Now Luke was really crying and he returned the hug and said,

“I love you too, Rory.” In that moment, they both felt so lucky to have the other in their life. Pulling back, Rory reluctantly said,

“I should get going. We leave early tomorrow. I’ll see you when we get back.”

“See you then. Have fun and keep your mom out of trouble.” They both laughed.

“I’ll do my best. Bye.” Rory said with one final wave before heading back downstairs to the diner. She grabbed two coffees and headed home, feeling lighter than she’d felt in a long time while Luke cleared the fridge of the miscellaneous crap that had accumulated so he could place the photo front and center on his refrigerator door.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos and comments are the best part of any day!


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